Link to Emails

I am a co-founder of the Leesburg Regional Tea Party. The weekend of February 25 marks the 3rd anniversary of the tea party movement, and tea parties all over the nation are choosing different ways of celebrating that event.

Here in Leesburg, we decided to hold some kind of event that would introduce us to the community and provide an opportunity for fun as well. That was the original thinking about the Community Cupcake Carnival.

On January 17, I stopped by the Leesburg Partnership and spoke with Sandi Moore about my idea. We wanted to hold the event downtown at the Farmers’ Market: it’s a win-win-win: first there will be some increased traffic for the Farmers’ Market vendors; second, it’s a win for the folks who get to enjoy free cupcakes; and third, it’s a win for Leesburg Regional Tea Party – we have a great venue, and true to our principle of free market, we can possibly increase business for the independent vendors at the Market.

My conversation with Sandi didn’t go quite as planned. She gave me the rules for the market; and I told her I would send her a flyer describing what we wanted to do.

What happened next follows….

Carol Knighton to Sandi Moore January 17, 2012

Hi Sandi...this is what I'm talking about!
Thank you so much for spending time with me this afternoon.
(You can go to our website at
Carol

To sandi moore leesburg partnership January 17, 2012

Sandi, I just reviewed the flyer I sent you earlier today, and I realized I had the date wrong. I'm attaching a corrected flyer.
Thank you!
clk

I then sent a couple more flyers, correcting and adding information.

I did not get a response, so on Jan. 23, I sent the following email.

Community Cupcake Carnival

To sandi moore leesburg partnership

Sandi, have y'all come to a decision re the above. Would appreciate an answer today.
Thanks!
Carol Knighton

RE: Community Cupcake Carnival 1/23

sandi moore leesburg partnership

To Carol Knighton

Sorry Carol but if you need and answer today than I guess at this point it would have to be no. Joe and I were still talking about it and trying to think it through but he had some reservations on many different levels. One of course is the political nature of your group, the other is the giving away of cupcakes which could potentially hurt one of our downtown businesses. We have a cupcake store downtown and Joe was concerned that the giving away of cupcakes could have an adverse effect on his business for that day. I would be happy to discuss it more and hope you understand but at this point it is a no.

Sandi Moore

Leesburg Partnership, Inc.

Phone: 352-365-0053

Fax: 352-365-0082

RE: Community Cupcake Carnival 1/23

To sandi moore leesburg partnership
Sandi, using the logic you outlined in your email, you would need to completely shut down the entire Farmer's Market for surely every entity is taking away from something else.
I met with the cupcake guy and told him what we would like to do. I also explained that I would like him to be a part of this event. I asked that he consider coming down and doing a couple of cupcake decorating demostrations. And I said that we would promote his business to anyone we spoke with and suggested that he could offer some kind of coupon to introduce others to his business. (From what I can tell, he can use all the help he will accept.)
As to your concern about the "political nature" of our group: As you can see from the flyer I provided, this is an apolitical event. This is an opportunity for happiness. I've already said that all would be made aware of the nature of the event. Once again, using your logic, are you telling me that no elected officials - mayor, City/County Commissioners, Board members, etc - are allowed at the Farmer's Market just in case the visit would be considered "political"? In the video promoting downtown, isn't that the Mayor Pro-Tem taking a major part? If President Obama, or Senator Rubio or Newt Gingrich stopped by the Farmer's Market, would they be asked to leave????
I, too, have some reservations on many different levels, not the least of which is my first amendment rights.
I stopped by your office early last week. To ask for an answer today is not, in my opinion, pressuring anyone to make a decision.
I trust you will forward this email to Joe, rethink my request with a view of allowing us to have a celebration on public property, and get back to me right away.
Thanks!
Carol Knighton

Once again, I did not hear from Sandi, so I sent the following email on 2/3/12

Community Cupcake Carnival

To sandi moore leesburg partnership

Sandi, I'm still waiting for an answer to this email.
Thanks!
clk

Community Cupcake Carnival

2/12/12

Joe Shipes Add to contacts

To , Sandi Moore, Phil Braun, , Greg Padgett, Stephen Knowles (), Joyce Huey () (),

Ms. Knighton,

I have reviewed your request to host an event at the Leesburg Saturday Morning Market and have determined that it does not meet the criteria as a market vendor.

For your convenience, please note the link to the City of Leesburg event ordinance and application where you will find information you will need to host your event in Towne Square.

Code of Ordinances:

Special Event Application: http://www.leesburgflorida.gov/pdf/planning_zoning/special_ev222.pdf

Sincerely,

Joe W. Shipes

CC; Sandi Moore

Executive Board

RE: Community Cupcake Carnival

Office docs | 2/13/12

To , sandi moore leesburg partnership, , , , , ,

Thank you for your response, Joe.
I recently visited the Farmers' Market and spoke with most of the vendors about my idea. I did not find one objection. Instead, the vendors were enthusiastic about an opportunity that could possibly bring more attendance to the market.
Just so I understand...under Sec. 26-3, Special Exceptions, I can hold a cupcake giveaway on a Saturday morning in Towne Square as long as I don't charge for the event, use animals, vehicles, fireworks, pyrotechnics or equipment and as long as I notify the Chief of Police 36 hours in advance of the event. And I can use available space on the Square.
For your information, attached is my proposed flyer for the event.
Please advise.
clk

RE: Community Cupcake Carnival

2/13/12

Joe Shipes Add to contacts

To Carol Knighton, Sandi Moore, Phil Braun, Stephen Knowles (), , Greg Padgett, , Joyce Huey () ()

Ms. Knighton,

The Leesburg Partnership has a permit to operate the Leesburg Saturday Morning Market in Towne Square from 8 to 2 pm, plus setup and breakdown time, 52 weeks out of the year. You would be able to obtain a permit after our event but not during in Towne Square, it takes us about 2 hours to breakdown so you could start your event by 4 pm.

I would also like to suggest the amphitheater area behind the Library on Palmetto.

2/14/12

After reviewing the documents from Joe Schipes, I stopped by the Special Events Office and met Mike Miller, City Planner, who assured me he would look into the matter and get in touch with me.

I followed that visit up with the following email 2/14/12

Community Cupcake Carnival

Carol Knighton <> to

Good to meet you today, Mike!

I did a little walking around after we spoke. Directly ACROSS Main Street by the bank (building is owned by LifeStream) at 5th Street, there is a little park. I found out today that is a city park. It is not contiguous to the "Town Square," and therefore could not be considered a part of the Farmers' Market.

We would like to set up there. We would need to block the two parking spaces in front of the bank/park; and I would like to set our collection containers for food bank donations in those parking spots. (And, of course, folks at the Farmers' Market would also be able to see us.)

Please advise.

Thanks!

I did not hear from Mike, so I called him on 2/17, had to leave a message and received the following email response:

Miller <> to "" <>, Jay Evans <>, Doug Drymon <>, Bill Wiley <>

Carol,

Good afternoon.

It was a pleasure meeting you as well. I want to thank you for coming in to speak with me regarding your proposed cupcake booth.

For the sake of clarification, the small park just south of Town Square on Main Street is actually private property – it is owned by Lifestream.

I am very appreciative of your proposed gathering for the Leesburg Regional Tea Party, however, staff cannot support your proposed event at the same time as the Leesburg Saturday Morning Market. The City’s resources are limited and we normally only allow one special event at a time in any particular area.

Should you and your organization wish to reserve Town Square or an alternate location for a different date or time where it does not conflict with an already approved special event, we would be more than willing to accommodate you.

I appreciate your time and consideration regarding this matter. Feel free to contact me should you have any additional questions or concerns regarding this matter.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Miller, Planner
Planning & Zoning Division
Community Development Department
City of Leesburg
204 N. 5th Street
Leesburg, FL. 34748
Phone: (352) 728-9760 Fax: (352) 326-6617
e-mail:

Please Note: Florida has a very broad public records law. Most written communications to or from government officials regarding government business are public records available to the public and media upon request. Your e-mail communications may therefore be subject to public disclosure.
Think before you print.

Drat! Shut down again! I did some online research, got Lifestream’s phone number, gave them a call and spoke with Howard Wiener who told me on the phone he didn’t see a problem with my using the Park across from the Farmers’ Market. I did not tell him I was from the Leesburg Regional Tea Party on purpose. I told him I would send him an email with the flyer attached so he could see what I was talking about.

From: Carol Knighton [mailto:
Sent: Friday, February 17, 2012 5:03 PM
To: Howard Wiener
Subject: Community Cupcake Carnival

Howard...Thank you for taking a moment to speak with me. Attached is the flyer outlining what we want to do.
We feel that by having this event on a Saturday morning, we will bring additional traffic to the Farmers' Market, and we will have a jumpstart on traffic for our event; however, the Farmers' Market folks feel we don't qualify as a vendor.
Please review the flyer. We expect there will be just a few folks at a time all morning. We won't be selling anything - just giving away cupcakes and possibly some American flags and copies of the Constitution. We would also like to collect food for the local food bank.
Please let me know that we can use your space.
Thank you!
Carol Knighton
407 383 8134

After he got my email, he sent me the following response…

From:
To:
Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:21:28 -0500
Subject: RE: Community Cupcake Carnival

Ms. Knighton

In investigating your request I found that the property you would like to hold your event on is leased to the City of Leesburg. Therefore you will need to get the City’s permission to use it. I wish I would have know that when we talked saving you the trouble of scanning and emailing the flyer to me.

Howard Wiener, CPA, M.Acc.

Senior Vice President for Administration

LifeStream Behavioral Center

352-315-7526

2/17/12

RE: Community Cupcake Carnival

Carol Knighton

To howard weiner

Actually, Howard, I described perfectly the property I was talking about. And the City tells me that same property is private and owned by Lifestream. I am really beginning to feel like a red-haired stepchild here.
clk

2/18/12

Keeping in mind Mike Miller’s statement that the City has limited resources and “…we normally allow only one special event at a time in any particular area,” I paid a visit to Downtown Leesburg today about 1:30pm, and guess what I found: the Mardi Gras celebration was in full swing along side the Farmers’ Market. (I do have pictures.) So the city can accommodate a LARGE special event (Farmers’ Market) with an even LARGER special event (Mardi Gras), but according to Mike Miller cannot accommodate a small special event with a LARGE event!

So here’s where we stand: the City is shutting me down, and I’m convinced it’s because I am a member of a tea party and want to include in a celebration the tea party movement. I have already missed the February 25 weekend due to the City’s lack of action in responding in a timely fashion and then due to the responses I got.

It is almost, but not too, late to make the right decision: simply, I want to hold the Community Cupcake Carnival in the park the City is leasing from Lifestream across from the Farmers’ Market on March 3, 2012, 10a – 1p. I would like to close the two parking spaces in front of the park. This is not an unreasonable request!

Carol Knighton

;